Harry R

Annotations and comments

Harry R has posted 58 annotations/comments since 6 July 2020.

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Third Reading

Second Reading

About Tuesday 11 May 1669

Harry R  •  Link

How was the May-dew gathered? Something like this, perhaps, but for a different purpose, and did they bring home buckets of the stuff?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V…

Sam turns over and goes back to sleep and records no interest in the beautifying effect of the dew on Elizabeth. I wonder if she and her WAG friends had arranged at Unthankes to go on a group swoop, for safety in numbers.

I found these lyrics and a pleasant version of an old peasant song extolling the cosmetic benefits of May dew.

https://mainlynorfolk.info/folk/s…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J…

About Tuesday 13 April 1669

Harry R  •  Link

"and did get her pour dire me ou she demeurs now, and did charge her para say nothing of me that I had vu elle"

Sam normally turns to his schoolboy French when describing his sexual encounters but not here. He's turned on just by the thrill of meeting Deb again, and perhaps by the risk of Will having seen her too.

About Saturday 23 January 1668/69

Harry R  •  Link

There's a disappointing lack of detail here, especially considering how much thought and preparation must have gone into the day. What were the courses, what were the wines and in what good order were they served? What was the conversation at the table? What card games were played and did they play for high stakes? Sam doesn't commend anyone for the proceedings having gone so well, he just tells of his contentment, everything done in the noblest manner, the company mighty merry etc and we are left to imagine just how swell a party it was.

About Monday 30 November 1668

Harry R  •  Link

"and there comes Mrs. Turner and Betty to see us, and supped with us, and I shewed them a cold civility for fear of troubling my wife,"

And so Mrs T, neighbour and frequent visitor over the past couple of years, disappears abruptly off the face of the diary. In September Sam had made a surprise move on her after which her visits thinned out, in October he's reproachful of her ingratitude towards him for assisting with Mr T's promotion, and now he's coldly civil towards her, though he does say it's so as not to upset Elizabeth. The writing was on the wall.

About Friday 30 October 1668

Harry R  •  Link

Mr Google will have noted our interest in Sam Pepys coach and will no doubt have advised Messrs Peloton thereof.

About Friday 30 October 1668

Harry R  •  Link

Thanks yet again Stephane and Sarah for your excellent and funny annotations. Rib-tickling stuff. Still it's hard to comprehend how Sam and perhaps Bess more so could have got it so wrong about their coach. Straus's old and new illustrations are as contrasting as a 1960's Mini and a current model.

About Sunday 25 October 1668

Harry R  •  Link

Surely what hurts Bess above all else is that this has been going on under her own roof, and with Deb who has been her constant companion for months.

About Monday 28 September 1668

Harry R  •  Link

Thanks for drawing this episode out Stephane. It's caused surprisingly little comment from earlier annotators. I laughed like a fool as I imagined the scene and at Sam’s apparent sangfroid. There's no rebuke for the idiot who left the candle there. How did he maintain his dignity, his gravitas? How did my Lady Hitchingbroke react? Did our hero see out the day with the damaged wig, like a Marx Brothers stooge with half a moustache shaved off? Perhaps the Timpsons of the day did wig repairs while-u-wait.

About Friday 10 July 1668

Harry R  •  Link

I'm no scholar Sarah. I give Sam & company 20/30 minutes at the start of each day but I have other pursuits that more than take up the rest of it. So much so that since I began reading the diary I've accumulated a small library of books on and around the Restoration period but not made much headway with them. One day hopefully. I'll take this opportunity to thank you for your considerable contribution to my daily indulgence.

About Friday 10 July 1668

Harry R  •  Link

Thanks Sarah. Much appreciated. Sam's entries have been paltry of late for a number of possible reasons - eyesight, pressure of work - hence my tangential query.

About Friday 10 July 1668

Harry R  •  Link

Probably not the right place to ask , but can someone explain why some annotators names appear in black print and some in blue? I notice today that LKvM's 2011 note has his name in black and his 2021 note in blue. I can see that the blue printed names provide a direct link to their other notes but the "black" names don't (so his 2011 note isn't listed with his other contributions). Also what is the significance of the black asterisks against annotators names which appear from time to time?

About Thursday 18 June 1668

Harry R  •  Link

On 3rd June Sam asked the Dof Y for 5/6 days leave of absence. He leaves on 5th June and is back in work on the 18th, so he's away from his desk for 13 days. Is that why Anglesey is piqued? He must have planned his trip to the west country and known roughly how long it would take. Perhaps he justifies his extended trip by his visit to the ship builders in Bristol. It doesn't stack up, but clearly he doesn't give a shit.

About Wednesday 17 June 1668

Harry R  •  Link

Thanks Sarah. I wasn't aware of that. Little did the enterprising innkeeper know that in Sam he has a discerning listener who's written a few tunes of his own and knows a thing or two about musick. Oh yes.

About Friday 22 May 1668

Harry R  •  Link

There are more than 2000 references to Elizabeth in the diary and she is mentioned most days. But she left for Brampton on 2nd April and Sam doesn’t see her again until 23rd May. During this time there are only a handful of passing references to her, apparently no communications and there’s no explanation as to why she is away for so long. Before she leaves they talk about alterations he will make to the house in her absence but there’s little or no detail about them being carried other than him buying some cloth and silk for the bed on 22nd May. I wonder if Sam kept making up reasons for her stay to be extended or whether it was planned that way from the start.

About Wednesday 17 June 1668

Harry R  •  Link

"musick, the worst we have had, coming to our chamber-door, but calling us by wrong names, we lay" -

Sam and co unhappy with the dawn chorus. What's going on here? Is it an early morning call or do the maids want to get the room clean and ready with fresh towels and linen for the next occupants? Are Sam and his party having a chuckle under the bed clothes about the musick not worth getting up for?

About Sunday 24 May 1668

Harry R  •  Link

The early dawns might have prompted Sam to seize his working days recently, enabling him to knock off at noon and take in a show or two in the afternoons.

About Thursday 7 May 1668

Harry R  •  Link

"I did see Beck Marshall come dressed, off of the stage" - I don't remember seeing this double preposition / idiom in the diary before. I don't think it's used in England at all these days, we would simply say "off the stage", though it's still commonly used in America.